August 17

Wednesday 17, 2005:

President Sellapan Ramanathan is declared President of Singapore for a second term at noon.

Tuesday 17, 2004:

The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopts new state symbols for Serbia: Boze Pravde becomes the new anthem and the coat of arms is adopted for the whole country.

Saturday 17, 2002:

In Santa Rosa, California, the Charles M. Schulz Museum opens to the public.

Tuesday 17, 1999:

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes northwestern Turkey, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.

Monday 17, 1998:

Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admits before the nation that he "misled people" about his relationship.

Saturday 17, 1991:

Wade Frankum starts his killing spree in Strathfield, Australia, an event that was later dubbed the Strathfield Massacre.

Wednesday 17, 1988:

Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and US Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.

Sunday 17, 1980:

Azaria Chamberlain disappears, likely taken by a dingo, leading to what was then the most publicised trial in Australian history.

Friday 17, 1979:

Two Soviet Aeroflot jetliners collide in mid-air over Ukraine, killing 156

Thursday 17, 1978:

Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.

Monday 17, 1970:

Venera program: Venera 7 is launched. It will later becomes the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet, Venus.

Sunday 17, 1969:

Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage.

Saturday 17, 1963:

A ferry linking remote islands off the coast of Okinawa sinks, killing 112.

Friday 17, 1962:

East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin. He thus became the first victim of the wall

Wednesday 17, 1960:

Gabon gains independence from France.

Monday 17, 1953:

Addiction: First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous in Southern California.

Friday 17, 1945:

Indonesia proclaims itself independent from the Netherlands.

Tuesday 17, 1943:

World War II: The US 7th Army under General George S. Patton arrive in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.

Saturday 17, 1918:

Bolshevik revolutionary leader Moisei Uritsky is assassinated.

Tuesday 17, 1915:

Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl in Atlanta, Georgia.

Monday 17, 1914:

World War I: The German army of General Hermann von Francois defeats the Russian force commanded by Pavel Rennenkampf at the Battle of Stalluponen.

Monday 17, 1896:

Bridget Driscoll becomes the first person in the world to die in an automobile accident after being struck by a car travelling about 4 MPH.

Friday 17, 1883:

Dominican Republic the first public performance of the Dominican National Anthem, Quisqueyanos valientes

Friday 17, 1877:

Arizona blacksmith F.P. Cahill is fatally wounded by Billy the Kid. Cahill will die the next day, becoming the first person killed by the Kid.

Wednesday 17, 1864:

American Civil War: Confederate forces defeated Union troops at the Battle of Gainesville.

Monday 17, 1863:

American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter. Bombardment will not end until December 31, 1863.

Sunday 17, 1862:

Indian Wars: Lakota (Sioux) uprising begins in Minnesota as desperate Lakota attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. They will be overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.

Saturday 17, 1850:

Argentine's War of Independence hero, General José de San Martín, dies in Boulogne-sur-Mer (France), at the age of 77.

Monday 17, 1807:

Robert Fulton's first American steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

Friday 17, 1427:

First band of gypsies visits Paris, according to an account of the citizen of Paris

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